Leftist Hip-Hop · Follow
--
Tyler’s radio hit “love song” has made waves in pop culture in the few days it’s been released. Being a fan of the album, I decided to watch it myself. I was immediately thrown off by the video and the imagery used in it, as it was filmed in a military ship and on a landing strip. It didn’t take much to realize that this is not a love song, this is definitely Tyler speaking to his Marxist tendencies.
Here is my analysis…
“You live in my dream state
Relocate my fantasy
I stay in reality
You live in my dream state
Anytime I count sheep
That’s the only time we make up, make up
You exist behind my eyelids, my eyelids
Now I don’t wanna wake up”
This is alluding to Mao’s work on the process of knowledge, cognition, into practice. This is a quote from Mao’s essay “Where Do Correct Ideas Come From?”
“At first, knowledge is perceptual. The leap to conceptual knowledge, i.e., to ideas, occurs when sufficient perceptual knowledge is accumulated. This is one process in cognition. It is the first stage in the whole process of cognition, the stage leading from objective matter to subjective consciousness from existence to ideas. Whether or not one’s consciousness or ideas (including theories, policies, plans or measures) do correctly reflect the laws of the objective external world is not yet proved at this stage, in which it is not yet possible to ascertain whether they are correct or not. Then comes the second stage in the process of cognition, the stage leading from consciousness back to matter, from ideas back to existence, in which the knowledge gained in the first stage is applied in social practice to ascertain whether the theories, policies, plans or measures meet with the anticipated success.”
Tyler speaking of his dream state is thinking about revolution as a worker. He recognizes that his idea of revolution is in his head, so he stays in reality to pursue revolution because otherwise he’d be an idealist rather than a materialist. In the music video, you can see him inside of what looks like a ship, with his comrade training next to him. Another comrade on the ship is A$AP Rocky, who is rocking the flag of China in the picture below (it’s a sick Gosha piece). He likely agreed to be in the music video because of his Marxist tendencies.
“20/20, 20/20 vision
Cupid hit me, cupid hit me with precision, I
Wonder if you look both ways
When you cross my mind, I said, I said
I’m sick of, sick of, sick of, sick of chasing
You’re the one that’s always running through my day dreams, I
I can only see your face when I close my eyes”
Tyler can see 20/20 because he is following the correct process in his quest for knowledge that has yet to be put into practice. Mao speaks specifically to reaching many failures before reaching success. This is Tyler becoming tired of chasing revolution through means that haven’t been working, while his vision of revolution feels so clear. This is something I feel we have all been through. Tyler in this scene is looking out of the window, towards revolution.
“Can I get a kiss?
And can you make it last forever?
I said I’m ‘bout to go to war
And I don’t know if I’ma see you again
Can I get a kiss? (Can I?)
And can you make it last forever? (Can you?)
I said I’m ‘bout to go to war (I’m ‘bout to)
And I don’t know if I’ma see you again
(Uh, switch it up)”
This is the revolution speaking to Tyler. This is symbolized through a red boat with people wearing yellow jackets on it (colors used by many revolutionary armies), that is close but still somewhat distant from Tyler’s ship. The lyrics are about going to war, specifically the war against imperialism and the bourgeoisie. Right before Tyler’s line you can see her comrades jump into the water, likely going to war.
Since Tyler can see the revolution beginning, he goes out and starts to organize with his militant comrades, all of which are wearing red berets (commonly associated with leftist militant movements). Tyler is wearing a gold beret and red shoes, which again is a common color scheme in leftist movements. The lyricism through this scene is especially important.
“I said, okay, okay, okay, okie dokie, my infatuation
Is translatin’ to another form of what you call it?
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, I ain’t met you
I’ve been looking, stop the waiting
‘fore I stop the chasing, like a alcoholic
You don’t understand me, what the f*ck do you mean?
It’s them rose tinted cheeks, yeah it’s them dirt-colored eyes
Sugar honey iced tea, bumblebee on the scene
Yeah I’d give up my bakery to have a piece of your pie
Yeugh!”
Okay, so this is where it gets to be decently glaring. Tyler in some lines is describing how much he loves revolution and the communist struggle. Most importantly he goes back to Mao’s theory, on creating the correct ideas and following the process of cognition. His infatuation (idea) is translating into another form, which is practice. Saying “I ain’t met you” is stating the fact that we have yet to see a communist revolution in the United States, and the next few lines are about how he’s tired of waiting for it. “You don’t understand me, what the f*ck do you mean?,” is Tyler being frustrated with his audience and the general lack of class consciousness. It is sort of trying to call attention to the people that think this is just some sappy idealist love song and have them consider a deeper meaning. The way Tyler describes his love for revolution is romantic, with imagery that is commonly associated with the worker (the bumblebee). Most importantly, Tyler talks about committing class suicide by peacefully forfeiting his theoretical bakery (ownership of a business as a member of the bourgeoisie), and settling for a piece of the revolution’s worker-owned pie rather than owning an oppressive business.
Tyler repeats the pre-chorus again. This time, he is in the shadows wearing a Ushanka, a piece of clothing commonly associated with Soviet Russia. Now, where there would normally be a hammer and sickle emblem on the Ushanka is covered by the shadows. I feel as if Tyler did not want to make his message too obvious. As a good Marxist-Leninist, Tyler does not want to alienate the masses by showing a symbol that is often frowned upon in the west. Now, a lot of you are probably thinking “Come on dude! That is a stretch.” But it’s really not, Tyler can be seen wearing a Ushanka with a hammer and sickle emblem on it at the Grammy’s.
Tyler is seen dancing around in joy at the movement of his comrades. This fades into Tyler’s song “Where This Flower Blooms,” and a totally different landscape.
“Ayo
Let’s take it back to them days
Counting sheep on Sadie Hannah’s floor
Carpet was my baby mama
80 dollar profit from the coffee I poured
Rent-A-Center calling everyday
Nobody home, they’re knocking on the door
Now I skrrt, skrrt, skrrt, skrrt
In toys I only dreamed that I could afford
Now I roll through Okaga”
This is really a perfect way to close out the video, which kind of seems out of left field for a music video that is supposed to only feature the song “See You Again.” Tyler clearly has artistic intention in adding a small part of this song to the end of the video, which seems totally irrelevant to the “love story” narrative. Only when viewed through the Marxist lens does this transition make sense. Tyler is speaking to where he came from before fame and riches. The whole 9 yards of being working class, dealing with debt collectors and working a lower wage job while the employer takes his surplus value. He explicitly mentions this idea in the line “80 dollar profit from the coffee I poured.” This is Tyler recognizing that at to this day, his surplus value is extracted from him. His employer makes more off of his work, even though he’s the one doing the work. In the music video, Tyler is wearing a ghost costume. This is Tyler personifying the specter of communism, mentioned by Karl Marx in the first line of The Communist Manifesto. When Tyler takes off the cloak, and the specter disappears, worker bees come flying out and the music video ends.
Say what you will, but I think this music video makes more sense as a political statement than a love song.
